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Talk:Daring Do/@comment-7115427-20130604192719/@comment-7115427-20130612221445
I mean, it IS a good book as a "Companion to the Hit TV Show" like it advertises on the book of the book sleeve. But that's the only thing it's really good at. It's also advertised as "The Official Guidebook" on the front of the sleeve, and it that regard it really comes up short. The book is 256 pages, but just about the last half of those pages are spent with a complete guide and summary to all the episodes from Season 1-3 and the lyrics to ALL the songs after that. There's an interview with Lauren Faust which I thought was pretty cool, and the occasional bio in the front of the book. The Mane 6 (and Spike) each get their own page but that page is taken up with concept art pictures and the occasional staff member commentary on the character. Each character pretty much gets a short paragraph telling what really is common knowledge. "Twilight is the student of Princess Celestia. She likes studying and books." "Rainbow Dash is Ponyville's weather captain and aspires to join the Wonderbolts one day." Basic stuff like that, which also disappointed me a bit. Princess Celestia and Luna actually got the most written about them I believe. The villains section was also pretty lacking. I was hoping to get to read more about Discord seeing as he's been around since Princess Celestia and Princess Luna started their rule of Equestria. I was also looking forward to finally getting some backstory on Trixie as well (at least she got a paragraph though unlike some others). I'm guessing they left the story on the bigger characters in the series out so as not to limit the writers of the show from exploring that in their own way further down the road and then having to retcon the "Official Guidebook" because that would make them look pretty ridiculous. The design of the book overall is pretty cool though. The book itself is hardcover (which is a must for me because paperbacks don't tend to hold up very well, especially in guidebooks that you're supposed to be constantly flipping through like my Resident Evil Archives guidebook which is now literally in 1500 different pieces because it was paperback and fell apart after so much use) The cover is designed to be an accurate recreation of "The Elements of Harmony" book that Twilight and the others have used on quite a few occasions. So, that was a big plus for me. There's a neat "Yearbook" style pages in the front and back of the book as well with colorful quotes from various characters across the vast number of episodes now and I found it as a fun little challenge to look at those and see if I can pick which episode each quote was from and even down to the situation that brought it about. There's a neat introduction replicating the story of Nightmare Moon and of course staff like Jayson Thiessen and Megan McCarthy and the ever-important Lauren Faust talk about working on Friendship is Magic and speculating on the incredible burst of popularity on a show that used to be even given a passing glance. The Map of Equestria was really neat too, and I like seeing all the places (and finally getting a direction in which way the Griffin Kingdom lies, yay!) But the actually background on the important locations in Equestria such as Canterlot and Cloudsdale was, once again to my dismay, lacking. A paragraph, done. That's it. So in conclusion, as a Guidebook, does it meet my expectations? No. Not by a long shot. But am I happy with the buy? Absolutely. Disappointed but still happy. It DOES meet its goal as a "Companion to the TV show" as it helps getting into the show more than I did before. I always let my imagination run wild and build the history of Equestria and the world and populace around it but it is good to have a little bit of ground to start on first. Again, nothing that wasn't ALREADY established in the show, but still pretty good to have it in a form you can grasp for yourself and take your time and explore around. That's what I have on the book, I'm pretty sure I covered most everything in the way of the big sections and aspects of the book. I pre-ordered it, I got it for $9 and free two-day shipping to my house through Amazon Prime so I got it day of release on June 4th since the shipped it two days early to get it to me on release day. It was definitely worth $9 in my opinion, I'd go and do it again if they released another one, but I wouldn't pick it up at a price over $15. The list price according to the book is $17 US but I imagine going to Barnes 'N Noble to pick it up, they'd probably charge $20 easy. That's what I think, so, there you go. Hope I help. :)